Ventilator expansion screed support and hood construction



Oct. 9, 1962 J. J. GRAY VENTILATOR EXPANSION SCREED SUPPORT AND HOODCONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 19, 1959 INVENTOR. JOHN J. GRAY mat-w ATTO NEY5United States Patent 3,057,287 VENTILATOR EXPANSION SCREED SUPPORT ANDHOOD CONSTRUCTION John J. Gray, Los Angeles, Calif. (2147 W. VictoriaAve., Anaheim, Calif.) Filed Oct. 19, 1959, Ser. No. 847,404 8 Claims.(Cl. 98-115) The present invention relates generally to the constructionindustry and more particularly to a novel form of ventilator expansionscreed support for use in buildings and especially useful in theconstruction of ventilators as customarily provided in the ceilings ofcertain areas such as bathrooms and the like.

The ventilator screed support itself in accordance with the presentinvention in its preferred form is made of metal strip and includes agenerally flat central section or web together with a pair of preferablysymmetrically arranged flank sections desirably formed integrally withthe central web. Each of the flank sections includes a V-shaped portionand an attachment flange, the flanges being desirably provided withopenings by which to attach the screed to structural members such asbeams by means of nails or screws. In accordance with the invention thecentral section or Web is perforate throughout its extent, beingprovided with a multiplicity of holes therethrough having diameters inthe normal type of the order of between about inch and about 7 inch, theholes being spaced apart by about the same distance. The lowermostextent of the V-shaped sections, that is the apexes of the Vs,constitute the screed guides for the present device against whichbuilding material such as plaster may be aligned during construction.The V sections afford a certain amount of lateral flexibility to thescreed support whereby to resist transmission of stresses and thereby tolocalize such stresses as might crack plaster or otherwise deform walland ceiling materials.

Where the present screed support is used in connection with a ventilatorconstruction as in the ceiling of a bathroom or the like, there may beprovided a ventilator hood desirably extending for a substantial portionor all of the length of the screed support proper. The side walls of thehood preferably terminate in the acute angle formed by the V-shapedsection and the lower edges of the side walls thus received are sealedtherein by a suitable plastic or caulking material. The side walls ofthe hood then continue upwardly and converge inwardly to a relativelysmall exhaust stack in accordance with known construction in order tocarry moist, warm air from the room or other area being ventilated.

End clips or closure members are provided for ready mounting on the endsof the screed support. This permits the screed support to be cut todesired lengths on the job from elongated stock strips for use, forexample, in venting under caves, in ceilings or other similar locationswhere normally no hood would be used in conjunction with the screedsupport.

Accordingly it is a principal object of the present invention todisclose a ventilating screed support particularly adapted for use inconnection with the construction of a hood ventilator for use in theceiling of buildings. Other objects and purposes of the invention are todisclose such a screed support including a central web section which isperforated throughout its length so that air can pass therethrough; todisclose such a screed support having downwardly pointed V-shapedsections flanking the central web section, the V-shaped sections beingadapted to receive therein the lower edge portions of side walls of aventilator hood used in connection with the screed support; to disclosean end clip or closure member for selective attachment to the end of thescreed support proper; and for other and additional objects and purposesas will become clear from a study of the following description of apreferred embodiment of the invention taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a ventilating screed supportin accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of a ventilatorhood and screed support combination in accordance with the presentinvention with structural details of ceiling construction omitted in theinterest of clarity of illustration.

FIG. 3 is a left end view, with parts broken away, of the structure ofFIG. 2 shown mounted upon structural beam members and with ceilingmaterial such as plaster in place.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an end clip or closure member shownmounted on a fragmentarily shown end portion of a screed support.

Referring now in detail to the drawing and first to FIG. 1 thereof, anend portion of a ventilator screed support in accordance with thepresent invention is indicated generally at. 10 and includes a centralperforate portion or web 12 having formed therein a multiplicity ofopenings 14 spaced throughout the extent of the web portion 12. Theopenings in the normal construction of screed support may have diametersof the order of about A; inch, the openings being disposed on centersspaced apart about A to inch. Flanking the central perforate web section12 and preferably symmetrically disposed relative thereto are flanksections including V-shaped portions 16 and 18 and outwardly extendingsubstantially coplanar attachment flanges 20 and 22 eacn provided with anumber of openings 21 and 23 for receiving mounting or fasteningelements such as nails, screws or the like. The lowermost tips 17 and 19of the respective V-shaped portions are parallel and establish a planespaced from and parallel to the attachment flanges 20 and 22. Thus theapexes 17 and 19 serve as screed guides for forming wall material flushtherewith. By preference flanges 20 and 22 may be substantially coplanarwith web section 12.

The screed support as shown in FIG. 1 may extend longitudinally as faras desired and may be used in a number of different ways in buildingconstructions, since the V-shaped portions 16 and 18 permit a certainamount of expansion between the members to which the flange portions 20and 22 may be fixed, while the central web portion 12 facilitates theventilation of areas such as space beneath the roof near the eaves of ahouse and elsewhere in domestic and individual construction. Aparticular use of the screed support in accordance with the presentinvention is illustrated by the structure of FIGS. 2 and 3 wherein ahood indicated generally at 30 includes a lower portion indicatedgenerally at 32 having end walls 33 and 34 and a pair of side walls 35and 36 which may be slightly divergent as shown and which are receivedin and terminate in the open spaces of the respective V-shaped sections16 and 18 of the screed support. In this arrangement, as is particularlyseen in FIG. 3 where side wall 35 is received in the V-section 16, theremay be provided a quantity of sealing or caulking material 38 furnishinga seal for the juncture of the side wall 35 and the V-section 16. Asecond quantity of such material 39 serves a similar purpose for sidewall 36. Above the side walls 35 and 36 the hood 30 includes a sharplyconvergent portion 40 terminating in an upwardly directed stack 42 whichmay extend into an attic, through a roof or otherwise as theconstruction details of the structure require. In FIG. 3 also isillustrated the preferred mode of attachment of the present device to abuilding in that the screed support 10 is shown with its attachmentflanges 20 and 22 attached by suitable fastening elements 44 and 46 tostructural beam members 48 and 50. Sheets of plaster board, gypsum lathor the like 54 and 56 are also carried by beams 43 and 50 respectivelyin known manner and plaster 58 and 60 is laid up on sheets 54 and 56using the lowermost tips 17 and 19 of the V-sections as screed guides.It is to be noted that, in the event of a deformation created in plaster58 as by building settling or the like, the flexibility of screedsupport afforded by its V-sections will minimize the transmission ofsuch deformation to plaster 6t and hence will tend to isolate andlocalize the damage.

Means are desirably provided in accordance with the invention forclosing off the otherwise open end of the screed support member 10. Asbest appears in FIG. 4, the closure member indicated generally at 62 isgenerally approximately U-shaped in configuration including a flattrapezoidal central section 64 and flanking or side sections 66 and 68joined to the central section 64 along inclined folded lines of juncture70 and 72 so that the side sections 66 and 68 are inclined inwardlyupwardly as seen in FIG. 4. Thus the side sections 66 and 68 lie insubstantially juxtaposed relation with the inner side walls of theV-sections 16 and 18 of the screed support and desirably the sidesections are formed so as to resiliently, frictionally contact the innerside walls of V-sections 16 and 18. The closure member 62 may beretained in place by an inwardly bent lanced tab 74 formed in the upperedge of the center portion 64, the tab 74 serving to abut from beneaththe central web section 12 of the screed support 10. It will beunderstood that the sheet metal of the screed support 10 and closure 62is sufficiently resilient to springingly and detachably retain the partsin place as shown. Frequently, although not necessarily, closure 62 ismost valuable when no hood is used in conjunction with the screedsupport. Whether or not a hood is used, the closure 62 expeditesconstruction, since the screed support can be easily tin snipped to sizeon the job and the closures applied at the screed support ends to make acomplete installation.

Accordingly it will be seen that there is here provided a convenient andeconomical structure by which to provide a ventilating expansion screedsupport member particularly useful with a ventilator hood for carryingaway hot moist air from bathrooms and similar areas in a building. It isto be understood that the preferred embodiment of the invention hereinshown and described is exemplary only and modifications and changestherefrom may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of theinvention as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a ventilator expansion screed support and hood construction, incombination: an elongated ventilator screed support of thin sheetmaterial including a flat central perforate web section, the outermarginal edge of each side of the web section being bent downwardly andoutwardly and then upwardly and outwardly to form V-shaped troughs, theouter upper edge of each of the troughs being bent to form outwardlyextending mounting flanges, the troughs being upwardly open and theirapexes defining a screed guide Plane spaced downwardly from said websection; and hood means including side walls having spaced parallellower edges received in said troughs.

2. The invention as stated in claim 1 wherein the flanges are coplanarand said plane is parallel to and spaced from the plane of the flanges.

3. The invention as stated in claim 1 including flowable sealingmaterial in the troughs to sealingly receive the hood means lower edgestherein.

4. A ventilating screed support comprising a thin elongated sheet memberhaving a horizontally disposed perforate flat web section, the outermarginal edge of each side of the web section being bent downwardly andoutwardly and then upwardly and outwardly to form V- shaped troughsdisposed symmetrically relative to the web section, the outer upper edgeof each of the troughs being bent to form outwardly extending mountingflanges, the apexes of the V-shaped troughs defining a screed guide fromthe central section and from the flanges.

5. The invention as stated in claim 4 wherein said apexes are downwardlydirected and the V portions are open upwardly.

6. The invention as stated in claim 5 including a ventilating hoodhaving approximately vertically disposed side walls received in saidV-shaped troughs.

7. The invention as stated in claim 4 including an end closureconsisting of a U-shaped member having a pair of side sections and acentral section, the side sections being'received in the V-shapedtroughs and frictionally gripping the inner side walls thereof.

8. The invention as stated in claim 7 wherein said closure is providedwith an inwardly deformed part in the upper edge of the central sectionabuttable upwardly against the screed support central section.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

